Kris Haddow
Encyclopedia
Kris Haddow is a Scottish
playwright
and performer, originally from Kirkconnel
in Dumfries and Galloway
.
in 1981, Kris was raised in the former mining village of Kirkconnel
and schooled in neighbouring Sanquhar
. He moved to Paisley
, Renfrewshire
in 2000 with the ambition of pursuing acting as a career. He spent ten years appearing in musicals and plays with various community theatre
and profit share companies in Glasgow
while working as a supporting artist with companies such as Scottish Ballet
, the National Theatre of Scotland
and BBC Scotland
.
A classically trained baritone, his voice was coached by two private tutors over an eight year period, though he received no formal acting training.
Between 2009 and 2011 Kris studied creative writing
at the Open University
with a focus on writing for the stage. He also started to produce a body of short stories and poems written in his native Lallans
tongue.
's Five Minute Theatre event.
entry Ronnie's Story, judged by author Lari Don and awarded by Scots Makar Liz Lochhead
.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and performer, originally from Kirkconnel
Kirkconnel
Kirkconnel is a small parish and town in Dumfries and Galloway, southwestern Scotland. It is located on the A76 near the head of Nithsdale. Kirkconnel led a more quiet existence than neighboring towns like Sanquhar. Principally it has been a farming community. There are few buildings of any...
in Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...
.
Background
Born in DumfriesshireDumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
in 1981, Kris was raised in the former mining village of Kirkconnel
Kirkconnel
Kirkconnel is a small parish and town in Dumfries and Galloway, southwestern Scotland. It is located on the A76 near the head of Nithsdale. Kirkconnel led a more quiet existence than neighboring towns like Sanquhar. Principally it has been a farming community. There are few buildings of any...
and schooled in neighbouring Sanquhar
Sanquhar
Sanquhar is a town on the River Nith in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies north of Thornhill and west of Moffat. It is a Royal Burgh.Sanquhar is notable for its tiny post office , claimed to be the oldest working post office in the world...
. He moved to Paisley
Paisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
, Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...
in 2000 with the ambition of pursuing acting as a career. He spent ten years appearing in musicals and plays with various community theatre
Community theatre
Community theatre refers to theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community...
and profit share companies in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
while working as a supporting artist with companies such as Scottish Ballet
Scottish Ballet
Scottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the four leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet...
, the National Theatre of Scotland
National Theatre of Scotland
The National Theatre of Scotland is a theatre company established in February 2006. The company performs in a wide range of venues including theatres, halls and found spaces across Scotland....
and BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
.
A classically trained baritone, his voice was coached by two private tutors over an eight year period, though he received no formal acting training.
Between 2009 and 2011 Kris studied creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
at the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
with a focus on writing for the stage. He also started to produce a body of short stories and poems written in his native Lallans
Lallans
Lallans , a variant of the Modern Scots word lawlands meaning the lowlands of Scotland, was also traditionally used to refer to the Scots language as a whole...
tongue.
Plays
His plays and monologues include The Bench (2009), Ronnie's Story (2010), 2h:9m:37s (2011) first commissioned for the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival and Make Your Move (2011) which was performed and broadcast live online as part of the National Theatre of ScotlandNational Theatre of Scotland
The National Theatre of Scotland is a theatre company established in February 2006. The company performs in a wide range of venues including theatres, halls and found spaces across Scotland....
's Five Minute Theatre event.
Awards
In April 2011 Kris was named winner of 'see me' Scotland's inaugural Creative Writing Award for his Scots languageScots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
entry Ronnie's Story, judged by author Lari Don and awarded by Scots Makar Liz Lochhead
Liz Lochhead
Liz Lochhead is a Scottish poet and dramatist, originally from Newarthill in North Lanarkshire.-Background:After attending Glasgow School of Art, Lochhead lectured in fine art for eight years before becoming a professional writer....
.